Piccadilly

Piccadilly Cafeterias Inc. said Friday O.Q. Quick will retire as chairman, effective June 30. The 73-year-old executive will remain a director of the company, Piccadilly said. Following Quick's retirement, James Bennett, 50, the chain's president and chief executive, will become chairman and chief executive. The post of president will be filled by Malcolm Stein, 60, Piccadilly Circus's chief operating officer. Piccadilly operates restaurants in Central Florida.

It's a long way to Tipperary, it's a long way to go. Those are the words of an old Irish song. Possibly you know it. Anyhow, after dining at a certain restaurant -- one of Orlando's once-upon-a time most popular eateries -- I would look for a certain waitress. If she didn't serve us, I always would run her down and whisper a message on the way out, "It's a long way to Tipperary." A shuffling, warm-hearted, frumpy person, she would give me a heaving sigh, and a dramatic "Oh, dear, it sure is."

Let the shopping begin!You're going to be spending a lot of time in malls in the coming days, so over the next few weeks, we'll look at places where you can grab a bite while taking a break from the crowds and long lines at the gift-wrap counter.This week: Orlando Fashion Square.Instead of the food court, my lunch guest and I stopped in at Piccadilly Cafeteria to grab lunch and were surprised to find no wait. This gave us plenty of time to roam the line and peer at the day's selections through the steamy glass.

29 Satchel Paige. Rod Carew? Eric Dickerson? I'll take Satchel, who said: "I ain't ever had a job. I just always played baseball." `STONE COLD?' Sharon Stone is 48 years old. The question is if she can still play the lead in Basic Instinct 2. The answer is: "Are you kidding me?" CRYING GAME Do you believe how many tears have fallen during the NCAA men's basketball tournament? Last time I cried as hard as these guys is when Orlando's final Piccadilly Cafeteria closed. 24 RECAP Jack choked his girlfriend, killed a couple of guys and blew up a gas plant.

Eros, one of the first statues cast in aluminum, perched on pointed toe above Piccadilly Circus again Wednesday after five months of repairs to damage caused by a drunken reveler. A crane gently hoisted the 9-foot archer atop a fountain without ceremony, one month before a 100th birthday party planned for the statue. Two years ago, a drunk swung from Eros' upraised leg, causing stress fractures to the thigh and calf of the weight-bearing leg.

LEESBURG - The home-style entrees and plastic trays of Morrison's Cafeteria are returning to the Lake Square Mall.The restaurant - a popular destination before its roof caved in during a torrential storm almost two years ago - will reopen in early fall as Piccadilly Cafeteria. ``It is my understanding that we will open on Sept. 15,'' said Brian Von Gruben, executive vice president of Piccadilly Cafeteria Inc.Piccadilly, headquartered in Baton Rouge, La., purchased the Morrison's chain of 142 restaurants last year for $46 million.

LEESBURG -- The cafeteria line where locals loaded plastic trays with home-style cooking is closed -- Piccadilly Cafeteria has left Lake Square Mall, ending a tradition that began in 1980. The restaurant -- a meeting spot for civic, professional and support groups -- closed last week because company officials said it was losing money. Piccadilly opened about three years ago, replacing a Morrison's Cafeteria that operated in the same space from 1980 until 1997, when a storm damaged its roof and forced the restaurant to close.

For Angela Freeman-Walker, the news hit her like a hard roll.Morrison's Cafeteria, where the staff knows her by name and gives her extra gravy with her turkey, is being sold to rival Piccadilly Cafeterias.``We come here every Sunday after church,'' said Freeman-Walker, who was making a special trip Thursday for an early dinner.She vowed her allegiance: ``I wouldn't come if this becomes a Piccadilly. Morrison's seasons their food better.''But Piccadilly makes more money. The friendly buyout between the comfort-food titans is valued at about $46 million.

The turkey-leg fan club is officially in mourning. So are the vegetable lovers, the blueberry muffin fans and the people who clamor for the sweet potato pie, which is arguably the best in the city. Rising property values and changing times have caught up with the Piccadilly Cafeteria on East Colonial Drive. Last week, manager Al Morris told employees the landlord would not renew the restaurant's lease, so Piccadilly will close on Saturday at 6 p.m. Since the announcement, patrons have flocked to the cafeteria for a last supper.

For Angela Freeman-Walker, the news hit her like a hard roll.Morrison's Cafeteria, where the staff knows her by name and gives her extra gravy with her turkey, is being sold to rival Piccadilly Cafeterias.``We come here every Sunday after church,'' said Freeman-Walker, who was making a special trip Thursday for an early dinner.She vowed her allegiance: ``I wouldn't come if this becomes a Piccadilly. Morrison's seasons their food better.''But Piccadilly makes more money. The friendly buyout between the comfort-food titans is valued at about $46 million.

"This one's like the Alamo. This was the last bastion of cafeteria food in Orlando." Al Morris manager of the recently closed Piccadilly Cafeteria No more carrot souffle? No more chess pie? No more cup custard? Yes, and no more corn sticks and green beans and sides of Jell-O for the kids. As you may have read in the Sentinel about a week ago, the last old-style cafeteria in greater Orlando closed recently, ending a tradition that goes back at least 70 years. Some of us are still reeling.

Tears flowed at the last of the liver and onions. A waitress scooped the remains of the Piccadilly Cafeteria's final meal Saturday. "You going to be all right, baby?" she asked Joe Micka as he shuffled Lloyd Letournau's wheelchair into the end of the line. Micka, 75, shook his head. "I love these people," he said. "I love this restaurant and it makes me ill, ill to see this happen." Piccadilly Cafeteria on East Colonial Drive closed Saturday, shutting the door on its regular customers after 40 years.

The turkey-leg fan club is officially in mourning. So are the vegetable lovers, the blueberry muffin fans and the people who clamor for the sweet potato pie, which is arguably the best in the city. Rising property values and changing times have caught up with the Piccadilly Cafeteria on East Colonial Drive. Last week, manager Al Morris told employees the landlord would not renew the restaurant's lease, so Piccadilly will close on Saturday at 6 p.m. Since the announcement, patrons have flocked to the cafeteria for a last supper.

LONDON -- As the investigation into the worst attack in Britain since World War II fanned out to Pakistan, Egypt, Jamaica and the United States, Prime Minister Tony Blair vowed Saturday to confront the "evil ideology" of Islamic fanaticism that has inflicted despair on every community in Britain, including Muslims. Police have formally identified all four suicide bombers, Scotland Yard reported. Pathologists put names to body parts found in each of the explosions by analyzing DNA samples collected at their homes and from fingerprints left on a prepaid parking stub one of the men left on his dashboard.

Reflecting the diversity of London, many of the missing traveled long and far to arrive here. They are Polish, Turkish and American. They come from Mauritius and France. They are almost all young. Karolina Gluck is a 29-year-old Polish immigrant, who arrived from Chorzow, Poland, almost four years ago. She was determined to master English and get a good job, said Richard Deer, Gluck's boyfriend. She accomplished both, starting as a receptionist at a student residence and working her way up to deputy head of receptionists.

LONDON -- Storefront after storefront had signs, often handwritten, bearing the same message: "Closed due to today's events," or "today's unfortunate events," or "today's tragic events." Stores, from Virgin Mega- store to mom-and-pop operations, were shuttered. Some offered reasons: "Because our staff can't get to work," or "Because we can't take deliver- ies . . ." The large McDonald's at London's Piccadilly Circus was downright apologetic: "Despite our best efforts we are forced to close.

NOT SO ROUGH. Workers cleaning the statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus rubbed so hard that the statue lost its distinctive green patina, a conservation group said. ''They gave it a shine it shouldn't have,'' said a spokeswoman for English Heritage. ''We were most upset.'' She said the group had complained about the incident to Westminister City Council.

A bomb set off in a garbage can in central London slightly injured three people early today. The bomb exploded in Panton Street near Piccadilly Circus at 1:45 a.m. A spokesman for a London ambulance service said three ''minor casualties'' were taken to hospitals.

Juniper Networks Inc., a rival of networking-gear giant Cisco Systems Inc., is buying security-technology company NetScreen Technologies Inc. for about $3.5 billion in stock. The deal, announced Monday, expands Juniper's product portfolio so that it can better compete for business from service providers, government agencies and enterprises, analysts said. NetScreen sells firewall and virtual-private-networking technology for large corporations and carriers. Juniper is the No. 2 network-equipment maker behind Cisco.

LEESBURG -- The cafeteria line where locals loaded plastic trays with home-style cooking is closed -- Piccadilly Cafeteria has left Lake Square Mall, ending a tradition that began in 1980. The restaurant -- a meeting spot for civic, professional and support groups -- closed last week because company officials said it was losing money. Piccadilly opened about three years ago, replacing a Morrison's Cafeteria that operated in the same space from 1980 until 1997, when a storm damaged its roof and forced the restaurant to close.